Precooked frozen food package



\ J. FISHER PRECOOKED FROZEN FOOD PACKAGE April 6, 1954 4 Shee'ts-Sheet1 Filed Dec. 29, 1948 a ill! INVENTOR. Jacob F/s/ver BY I M m ATTORNEYS-April 4 J. FISHER PREC06KED FROZEN FOOD PACKAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledDec. 29, 1948 IIIIIIIIEIIF"IIIIII INVENTOR. dacob F/6/7 e/ ATTORNEYS.

April 6, 1954 J. FISHER PRECOOKED FROZEN FOOD PACKAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Dec. 29, 1948 INVENTOR.

' Jacob Fla/rep A TTORNEYS April 6, 1954 J. FISHER PRECOOKED FROZEN FOODPACKAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 29, 1948 INVENTOR. Jacob F/sherATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 6, 1954 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICIE 2,674,536 PRECOOKEDFROZEN FOOD PACKAGE Jacob Fisher, Philadelphia, Pa. Application December29, 1948, Serial No. 67,846 Claims. (Cl. 99192) This invention relatesto containers in which food may be frozen, held, transported, andreheated.

Containers of this type are especially useful in instances where food isfirst cooked and then frozen at a central plant; kept in a suitablerefrigerator in said central plant for a greater or lesser period oftime; transported from said central plant in suitable refrigerators toanother place or succession of places where it is kept for a greater orlesser period of time and reheated and served. An example of this typeof use is the cooking and freezing of food at a central plant;transporting said frozen food and delivering same to an airplane; andthen reheating and serving of said frozen food on said airplane.

The prior art containers of this class were made of the combination of apaper or cardboard tray with a partial cover. These containers wereobjectionable for at least the following reasons:

(a) They could not be heated beyond 350 F. otherwise the tray wouldscorch and/or burn.

(b) It was necessary to build special comparatively expensive andcomplicated ovens in order to make certain that the trays would not beheated beyond 350 F.

(0) These ovens were comparatively heavy, a feature particularlyobjectionable in airplanes.

(d) The cooked food could not be frozen directly in the paper andcardboard containers because it would absorb the wood pulp odors whichin turn would result in an objectionable flavor in the food.

(e) Even in its frozen state the food absorbs the pulp odors, the amountof absorption being dependent upon the time that the food remained inthe containers. At the end of three months the absorption is such as torender the food unfit for use.

(I) The food absorbs the pulp odors when it is inadvertently defrosted.

(y) The food becomes at least partially dehydrated when it is reheated.

It is one of the objects of this invention to produce a container forfreezing, holding, transporting, and reheating food which will be freeof the foregoing objections.

It is another of the objects of this invention to produce a containerfor freezing, holding, transporting, and reheating food which will becomparatively easy to manufacture and to assemble and use.

It is another of the objects of this invention to produce a containerfor freezing, holding, transporting, and reheating food which will be atleast as light as the prior art units but which will be stronger andmore rigid than said prior art units.

I attain the foregoing as well as other objects by making the containerof two elementsnamely, a tray and a complete cover, forming the tray ofthin metal, and forming the cover of thin metal foil. I prefer to usethin light metal and thin light metal foil as for instance aluminum. Ialso prefer to form the tray with a. lip.

For the purpose of disclosing my invention with the particularityrequired by law I have shown in the drawings which form a part hereofand will now describe an embodiment thereof.

In said drawings Fig.

away to show otherwise hidden structural features.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of my novel container when it and itscontents have been heated. A portion of the cover has been broken awayto show otherwise hidden features.

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section along the line 66 of Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein similar referencenumerals denote similar parts, reference numeral I designates my novelcontainer for holding food and in which food is to be heated.

The container I consists of a tray 2 made of thin and preferably lightmetal and a cover 3 made of thin and preferably light metal foil. Anexample of thin and light metal which may be used in making the tray 2is .012" aluminum sheets. An example of thin and comparatively lightmetal foil which can be used in making the cover 3 is .0007" purealuminum foil.

The tray 2 has formed therein any desired number of compartments 4 whichcontain food items 5, 6, and 1 and food juices or gravy 8.

The tray 2 has formed thereon the lips 9 which are encompassed by theedges ill of the cover 3. The cover 3 and its edges l0 which encompassthe lips 9 of the tray 2 combine with the body of the tray 2 to sealsaid tray and its contents.

In practising the invention the food items 5, 6, and I which are to befrozen, held, transported, and reheated in the container l areindividually cooked in any manner known in the cooking art. These items5, B, and 7 plus the food juices or gravy 8 are placed in thecompartments 4' formed in the tray 2. Then the cover 3 is placed uponthe container l and its edges l0 caused to I 1 is a perspective view ofmy novel container when it and its contents are frozen. A portion of thecover has been broken.

encompass the lips 9 of the tray 2 thereby sealing the contents of saidtray. The container l and its contents are now placed in appropriaterefrigeration compartments and frozen. The appearance of the unit atthis point is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The unit may be transferredfrom refrigerated compartment to refrigerated compartment as from thecold storage compartment in the plant where it has been assembled to therefrigerated compartment of; an. airplane. When it is desired to servethe food in the unit one merely places the container l and its contentsover a flame or in any type of heating unit and heats same to whateverpoint desired for use, using any cooking temperature desired. At thispoint at least some of the gravy andfood juices vaporize, as isschematically designatedby the reference numeral II, but the food is notdehydrated because the free edges in of the-cover- 3 encompass andadhereto the lips 9 of the tray 2 thereby ea n t e. c nta ne an preve .tsth moisture fr m escapin e appeara-nceof the container and, its con,shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 Afteritv has been heated to th in any mannerdesired and the tray 2, plus its.

contents served to. thediner or the entire unit including the cover is,served to. the diner. In the latter case the diner removes the, cover 3;One of; the many ways to remove, the cover- 3 is to slit same at any,point w th a suitable instru-. ment and thentear same away.

Having described: my invention what Iclaim. as:

new and useful is:

nts. at thi p int se desired, point thecover-B. is removed open top trayof thin, substantially rigid light metal, a peripheral lip at the top ofsaid tray, frozen food adapted to be reheated prior to con sumptioncarried in said tray, and a sheet of light metal foil covering the topof said tray and said frozen food, said sheet of foil including a freeedge portion bent around said peripheral lip.

2. An article of manufacture consisting of an open top tray of thin,substantially rigid light metal, frozen foqd adapted to bereheated priorto consumption carried in said tray, and a sheet of light metal foilcovering said frozen food and secured to the top of said tray.

The article or claim 2 wherein said tray is made of aluminum.

4-. Thearticle of claim 2 wherein said sheet of fo l; smad oi alumi 5.The article of claim 2 wherein said tray and said: sheet of foil aremade of aluminum.

References Cited. .in the file. of, this 1 patent. UNITED; STATESPATENTS Number 7 Name Date 1,554,0'8'7' Fay Sept. 15', I925 1,576,088Bunz Mar. 9, 1926. 1,689,018 Froidevaux Oct. 23 192 1,955,484 BirdseyeApr. 17,1934 2,125,620 Schlumbohm. Aug. 2; 1938' 2,166,278 Alderier July18,1939 2,177,359 Baker Oct. 24; 1939'- 2,27l,l56 Walker Jan, 27,19422,271,92 Luker Feb. 3; 19421 2,364,049 Bensel Dec. 5,1944 2,495,435Welch J an; 24,1950

1. AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE CONSISTING OF AN OPEN TOP TRAY OF THIN,SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID LIGHT METAL, A PERIPHERAL LIP AT THE TOP OF SAIDTRAY, FROZEN FOOD ADAPTED TO BE REHEATED PRIOR TO CONSUMPTION CARRIED INSAID TRAY, AND A SHEET OF LIGHT